Pain and Promises
by Morrigan Mikagami
Summary: Mayuko gets a surprise visit from the third member of the Handsome Blossom Trio, in which they share a secret and a promise to protect their loved one's happiness. Nonromantic, but implied AyameHatori onesided and HatoriMayuko romantic.


**Pain and Promises**  
© Mikagami Morrigan

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DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fruits Basket. Takaya-sensei does.  
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The minute Souma Ayame had walked in--shoving the door of her family's bookstore with one elegant sweep, Mayuko felt for pulse and temperature. No--she was fine, she wasn't feverish (at least not yet). And when she pinched the skin on her left arm, it tingled and bruised lightly--so she knew she wasn't dreaming either.

"A lovely day, Mayu-kun! How fortunate you are to have basked in my presence so early this morning! Ahahaha!"

Then there it was: that unmistakable, distinct, overzealous laugh that made her want to be dreaming (or drunk) instead. Not even in her dreams could she have imagined that laugh. Yes, it was definitely all real. Ayame was right here, right now, and royally loud, as usual.

"Aya-kun, what are you doing here?" She was nevertheless surprised to find him there though.

"What a silly question, my dear! I came to find books!" He waved dramatically at her as he sauntered off to a nearby bookshelf, scanning each perfectly aligned stack.

_Sure_, Mayu thought. _Because Ayame browsing for rare, old books was just about as natural as Shigure trying to catch fish with old-fashioned string and hook._ She actually found that mental image quite hilarious.

"Ah! What particular titles were you looking for? Could I be of any help?"

Truthfully, she had never found it difficult to get along with Ayame, despite popular belief that he's extremely lurid and overbearing to begin with. In fact, she found him quite tolerable, she and Ayame got along pretty fine, almost close, they laughed and talked ceaselessly like siblings or old friends… when they're both alcohol-induced. And incoherent.

"No, no! I mustn't insist. There is no immediate need for me to acquire a book! To browse merely gives me pleasure and inspiration!" There must be some twisted implication to that, but she'd rather not think about it if she actually cared about her sanity.

She couldn't shake off the feeling, however, that this sudden meeting wasn't pure coincidence, somehow. It is quite strange to bump into all Mabudachio Trio, though separately, on three consecutive days. Hatori coming in the previous day to pick up his book had been Shigure's twisted idea of course – that jellyfish had planned it the day before that, when he visited her out of the blue. She suspected he hadn't been really forgetful about his order.

_Stupid jellyfish._ She scratched herself a reminder to whack him into oblivion the next time she sees him. But then again, if it weren't for him, she'd probably be stewing in misery for her unrequited love for the next couple of centuries. If it weren't for him, she'd most likely given up all hope…

"Have you told him yet?" Ayame's deep baritone filtered in her thoughts, unexpectedly.

"Excuse me?"

Ayame kept his back to her, a book laid open in his palms, his fingers delicately flipping over the yellowed pages. She couldn't see his expression, but the soft sigh was unmistakable before he repeated his question—precisely, this time. "Have you told Hatori yet... about your feelings?"

Why was she suddenly nervous? He wasn't talking about what she thought he might be talking about… _was he?_ And how in heaven's name would Ayame know about her secret crush, anyhow? Except if that blabbermouth of an ex-boyfriend… She had -trusted- Shigure to keep his mouth shut - she should really send him to the moon - one way.

"I--I'm not sure I understand, Aya-kun..."

As though having read her thoughts, he immediately defended, "Shigure never said anything. I figured it out on my own, believe me."

Was it just her or did Ayame's tone suddenly lost all of their vibrancy? She had never seen—or heard—Ayame put up a serious air before. But perhaps if it involved his friends, perhaps he could be capable of that. "And I've known it for quite sometime, as well."

That got her attention. Had she slipped and unwittingly revealed her feelings to him in one of their drunken barges back then? No, that couldn't be, she wasn't that type of drunk who reveals all the skeletons in her closet when highly induced with alcohol she was too resolute to have betrayed herself like that.

And besides, she didn't remember having gone drinking with Ayame without his other two best friends around, so if he knew that means… _No, that can't be!_ And here she thought all this time she'd been so careful.

Again, as though he knew what she'd been thinking, Ayame continued in that eerily monotonous tone, which was unnerving and made her feel even more nervous. "It's the way you look at Tori-san, when you speak to him," he explained, fiddling with a page, "Your eyes sparkle, no matter how much you mask them with indifference." He spoke slowly, as though choosing his words carefully in order to describe what exactly he meant.

Mayu can feel her heart racing inside her chest, she was utterly speechless. Not nearly as ashamed at having been found out, but more like... foolish, when she thought she had convinced herself (and had been rather proud of) of her act before. _It had all been for Kana…_

"How did you...?"

"His eyes only sparkled back when he and Kana had been together. I never saw his eyes shine like that before..."

Ayame seemed to be lost in thought and nostalgia as he spoke. And so she wondered vaguely about the details that he acutely described. He was surprisingly more sensitive than what he's been given credit for. Or was it because it involved Hatori? A distant memory of Shigure telling her how Ayame loved Hatori passed her mind briefly. It only made sense to her then, because of course, weren't they best friends?

She glanced at the silver-haired man, watching his expression carefully. It surprised her mildly to find a reflection of her in Ayame's golden eyes. She can't help it, but she suddenly understood what he meant by 'sparkle'.

"I had glimpsed the promise of that sparkle again yesterday." He now faced her with an easy smile on his lips, but one that never really reached his eyes--it was genuine though, all the same. "I saw him after he came here to pick up his book. He seemed to have enjoyed his lunch."

She could feel her cheeks burn, but why suddenly she felt both guilty and embarrassed? "I--I haven't said anything yet."

"When you do, can you promise me one thing though, Mayu-kun?" His tone sounded hollow, lost in its words... sad, even. But when he looked up, his eyes never really lost their sparkle; it burned more than ever between amber-honeyed colors. "Promise me Mayu-kun, that you wouldn't let anything--or anyone--take away the sparkle in his eyes again..."

His voice was mellow, an entreaty lingered within it. She could have sworn she heard something break…

"Protect Hatori's smiles. They may come in raindrops, but each one is very precious and real."

Ayame's gentle smile could have fooled her if it wasn't for the noticeable melancholy that graced his perfect lips. A promise was important though, and the weight of those words lay heavily in her heart. If only Kana had only been a bit stronger, a bit braver, she knew she might have been able to carry that weight and neither she nor Hatori would've ever been sad.

But it was already too late. And right now she was given that chance to bear the weight, to seal that promise. And she didn't want to let him down. Ayame loves Hatori, deeply.

"I promise." But so does she.

E.N.D.

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AUTHOR'S NOTES: I had initially intended for this as a drabble entry to 31days community at LiveJournal, theme for June 10: _"love 'til it hurts",_ but I was already a few days late and then I didn't like the first draft, so I let it sit for a while. Two weeks later, I found it suitable for the prompt on June 23: _"Love, unconquered in a fight"_. And so here it is, self-beta'ed, such that if you find any glaring mistakes, that would be my fault. And if you find Ayame a bit out-of-character in this fic, not my fault he's in love with his best friend. Don't bite my head off though, but I appreciate your comments and cookies!

This is but a fabrication of my overactive imagination, the workings of a rather angsty muse, and fault of a geeky best friend who explained to me how "Love (inevitably) conquers all."  
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